Traveling over ground and imagination

Muddy Trails 10K 2013, The Woodlands, TX.

Happy five years of Muddy Trailing it! This was my first race (2008) I ever participated in (5K) and I can honestly say one of the more challenging races. Mike has been doing the 10K while I do the 5K (2009, 2010, 2012). This year I decided I was going to do the 10K because I had yet to do an actual 10K race. I have done plenty of 5Ks, a 5 miler, a 10 miler, a couple of 1/2 marathons, and a marathon relay but no 10K!

I decided this year that I didn’t want to carry my phone/camera with me so I only have a shot of Mike and I at the end of the race. Sorry guys! Last year they had an issue with the shuttles that were supposedly fixed this year, however we saw a lot of people walking again and the line for the shuttle was long so Mike and I walked from the parking area to the race site (1.5 miles). We got there just as the kids were finishing their fun run and the 5K race was going to start. Thankfully, I had time to cool off a little bit in the shade before starting the run.

At 4:05 they put us all in the corrals so we’d be ready to go at 4:15. However, someone in the 5K group took a wrong turn, which means a lot of lemmings took it too, so we were postponed until about 4:30 so the 5Kers could clear out. Finally, the buzzer sounded and we were off. I had two ladies behind me from the beginning and passed a woman on the first loop. Since it had been raining this week the dust wasn’t as bad as it typically is; However, the ground was quite soft in some areas. The last time I had run was about a week before the race and boy could I feel it.

I felt like I was running the race on my own for most of the time since I couldn’t see anyone in front of me nor the people behind me. I would see the other racers when we were on an out and back portion because they were coming back while I was still going out! I ran into two of my running buddies from my group this last fall. That was pretty cool! I was hoping I would NOT see Mike here because if I did that meant I had a looonnnng way to go still. Mike is about twice as fast as I am. I also happened to see the woman I passed at the beginning of the race. I know she didn’t pass me again, so apparently she decided to take a short cut. Oh well, her loss.

My legs were so heavy on this run and the sand/roots were not my friend. I almost face planted a couple of times but thankfully I recovered and no one was there to see it! No witnesses means it didn’t happen…except I’ve already told y’all! Usually Mike comes back to find me and finish the race with me when he’s done but I was getting close to the end and had yet to see him.

I finally got to the paved portion which meant a little over a quarter mile and I was finished! There was Mike, walking toward me. He had apparently gone back to find me but the woman at the aid station said there were only 2 people left in the race and my bib number wasn’t one of them. Not sure who he talked to or when, but I was still there…pushing along!

As I came up on the finish line a lot of the people eating crawfish were cheering me on, which was nice but at the same time I have this voice in the back of my head saying “awww…let’s cheer on the slow poke, she definitely needs it”. Donna and Patty (my running buddies) were there to high five me on my way in too. All in all, for being tired and ready to stop I was actually in a pretty good mood at the end! It took me 1:41: 52, which was a 16:26 minute mile but that’s ok. I was doing a lot of ups and downs on the trail. Just for comparison, I finished my marathon relay portion in 1:28 (6.25 miles) which was roughly the same distance but was flat!

I plopped down on the grass for a little bit just to catch my breath then decided it was time to go. We couldn’t find where the shuttle was picking people up from and I really didn’t want to stop for too long otherwise I’d get stiff so Mike and I walked back to our car (another 1.5 miles!). By the end of the day I’d gone 9 miles!

We went to Panera Bread where I treated myself with a grilled cheese sandwich, tomato soup, and a fresh from the oven chocolate chip cookie! I don’t know if I’ll do this race again next year since my friend Amy wants me to do the Hero run and I don’t know if it will be the same day again…but we’ll see!

One thing that stands out to me, this is my 5th year of races! That is awesome! I would NEVER have thought I’d run races let alone doing them consistently for 5 years. I feel like a badass!